Saturday 6 November 2010

Corstorphine Hill

We had a wonderful walk round Corstorphine Hill today. The autumn colours are glorious, there are loads of fungi around and lots of birds. We saw lots of blue tits, great tits, a couple of treecreepers and a couple of goldcrests, which came very close to us, which is relatively unusual for this species. We also had a very good view of a female kestrel being chased by a crow. We had come back to the hill after we had heard there were waxwings there, and we had briefly walked round the hill yesterday lunchtime, without seeing waxwings, though we had seen bullfinches and had been caught in the middle of a flock of long tailed tits, which is a lovely experience. No waxwings today either, which is sad as there are a lot of them in Edinburgh at the moment and they are wonderful birds to see. I have been lucky seeing them in recent years when they've come to Edinburgh, but so far not this year. I guess they should be around for a few weeks longer, so fingers crossed. And in the meantime here are some photos from a very autumnal Corstorphine Hill. The Tower in the first photo is Corstorphine Tower, a memorial to Walter Scott.

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20 comments:

eileeninmd said...

Beautiful shots and it sound slike you had a great day seeing lots of birds!

d. moll, l.ac. said...

Beautiful, I love the tower.

Ralph said...

The birds are easier to see on the trees as the leaves are falling steadily. As the air gets colder, the faint sun is welcome and the shadows are longer - and just as beautiful!

Sylvia K said...

Such lovely captures and it does sound like a wonderful day! Leaves, leaves, leaves everywhere, but I love to walk through them! Have a great weekend, Juliet!

Sylvia

Sandy's witterings said...

It seems that no autumn walk in the woods is going to be complete this year without a waxwing sighting. Nevermind, I should think that tree creeper and goldcrest sightings would be an ample compensation.
In my 4 years Edinburgh residency I never made it to Corstorphine hill - that would have taken away from socialising time down in the Grassmarket - quarter of a century later I am of course much wiser but unfortunately elsewhere.

EG CameraGirl said...

It looks like it was a glorious day to walk up Corstorphine Hill. The light is lovely and your photos make me want to be there.

Shirley said...

Juliet, these are wonderful nature shots! Too bad you missed the waxwings. They don't come here often but when they do they sure catch your eye.


Shirley
Edmonton Alberta Canada

Alissa Nicolau said...

What a great and inspiring landscape! Thanks for sharing!

Chubskulit Rose said...

Gorgeous shadow shots!

Elephant Ears' Shadows

Hey Harriet said...

Such a beautiful area which I'd love to explore. The autumn colours are magic!

RG said...

Sir Walter Scott

Kids

A card game called Authors

I remember - I think!

Anonymous said...

Such a lovely part of the world you live in.

Margaret@BooksPlease said...

Beautiful photos. Corstorphine Hill looks a good place for a walk - I must remember to go there next time we're in Edinburgh.

wanderlust said...

It's beautiful there!

PurestGreen said...

I must go here! It is a place I have not walked before and it would not be far for me to go. Thanks for this introduction.

Anonymous said...

Oh how lovely the fall color is and that you are able to see so many different kinds of birds. I think your tits are similar to our chickadees....thank you for adding this to Nature Notes Juliet....Michelle

Carver said...

Sounds like a great walk. I enjoyed your descriptions of what's going and and also the photography is great.

Arija said...

What a lovely place for a walk with historically literary connotations as well. Beautifully photographed.

Leora said...

Sounds like a lovely walk with lots of birds viewed. I like your middle shot especially, with the light, color and the angle making it look like a striking scene.

DeniseinVA said...

An idyllic walk with lovely photos. Thanks for taking us along.